3.7 Lessons learnt from organising ICC workshops Gabriela S. Matei During 2005, twelve workshops (also known as National Training Events, or NTEs) were organised within the framework of Project ICCinTE, in 12 member states of the ECML (see Models for Timetabling Intercultural Communication Workshops and detailed National Training Event reports in section 6.2). These generally consisted of one- or two-day workshops and were organised by former Graz workshop participants (the local organizers). Each local organizer co-facilitated the workshop with one project team member. After the event, the majority of the NTE local organizers answered a short questionnaire prepared by the ICCinTE team with the purpose of exploring their experiences in organizing and facilitating such events, in collaboration with the ECML. For the use of future organizers of intercultural training events, we present some of the lessons learned "by doing" (sometimes "the hard way"). Here is a selection of the questions we asked and a brief summary of the answers we received: 1. What was the most difficult
thing for you to do when you planned the NTE? 2. What would you change if you were
to organize this NTE again? 3. What would you avoid? Only a few organizers answered this question; one stated that, in the future, s/he would avoid working with a certain partnering institution; another mentioned that s/he would not use shorter training sessions at intervals of several weeks, and, finally, one organizer would avoid inviting unmotivated participants ("who are interested only in getting a certificate of attendance"). 4. What other advice do you have for other organizers of intercultural communication workshops? Once more a few organizers stressed the importance of the selection of participants and of needs analysis prior to the training event. One organizer suggested that, in such training events, it is very beneficial to make full use of the real-life cultural diversity of the participants and trainers. next chapter: 3.8 Models for timetabling |